Secrets Revealed
by Laura Scofield
Summary: After Mayrie reveals Tayend's feelings for Dannyl, she must face her brother's reaction... Set during The Novice. Sequel to Confession.


**Secrets Revealed**

_(I'd advise reading my other fic __**Confession**__ before you read this one. The fic below is set the next morning after the conversation in Confession. Once again it is set in Mayrie's house, but this time __after__ she has told Dannyl about Tayend's feelings for him.) _

**For Lady Carrea, who wanted a sequel to Confession :D **

Mayrie took in the sight of her brother as she entered her library, just after dawn the next morning. Although still undoubtedly handsome, his hair was tousled as though he had only just dragged himself out of bed, and his eyes seemed weary with exhaustion. Clearly he, like Mayrie, had not been able to get a decent night's sleep, and like her had decided to get up early. He wasn't even properly dressed yet; wearing his long nightshirt over his trousers, and in his bare feet. Mayrie could only think of one reason why her brother had forgone his usual impeccable grooming.

"Too much to drink last night, young Tremmelin?" she asked sweetly, as she closed the library doors and strode over to him.

Tayend winced, but managed to meet his sister's gaze steadily. Putting aside the book he had been reading he replied, "It would seem quite the contrary, sister dear, if I'm awake at this hour".

Mayrie laughed affectionately at Tayend's ability to make clever retorts even this early in the morning. She reached out a hand and fondly ruffled his hair, which made it even messier. The scholar yelped in protest.

Mayrie said suddenly, "I haven't seen your hair in such a state since we were children. Remember how you used to make me brush it for you?" She chuckled, because in reality, _she_ had been the one to offer to brush it.

Tayend replied mirthfully, "Remember the time you braided ribbons and flowers in it, on my 14th birthday? It felt like a bird's nest to me, but everyone else almost died of shock when they caught sight of me, they thought I looked like a girl! But you were so kind to tell me I could borrow one of your best dresses at any time, if I ever felt the urge!"

Mayrie couldn't refrain from laughing at his words, as well as at the sight of him having a merry fit on the armchair, tears practically rolling down his face. "Looks to me like you're still rather tipsy, little brother."

Tayend grinned cheekily back at her. "Well, it was _you_ who left out your supply of best wine last night, Mayrie." He slowly began to sober as he recalled exactly _why_ she had probably done this- to ease his pain from the conversation they had yesterday afternoon.

Practically reading his thoughts, Mayrie nodded. "It was all part of my wicked plan you see… While I plied you senseless with drink, I was able to get Lord Dannyl _alone_ for a walk…"

The scholar's eyes widened with shock, but his tone was mocking as he accused her, "Mayrie! You devious wench! Trying to seduce the man of my dreams while I was too drunk to come to his rescue!"

Mayrie gave a mischievous cackle, but then shook her head, "Of course not! I'm already married, in case you've forgotten. Besides," she added ruefully, "He's much too tall. My neck's still sore from having to stare up at him so much… Although, he certainly isn't a strain on the eyes. And I'm sure it's not just his face that holds you captivated."

Tayend's cheeks glowed crimson as he hurled the small book he had been holding at his sister. It bounced harmlessly off her shoulder, and she continued gazing at Tayend speculatively. _I've missed this so much in his absence_, she thought to herself in delight, _teasing my_ _little brother relentlessly!_

Still blushing, Tayend mustered his dignity as he answered, "I have nothing but the most honourable intentions for Lord Dannyl!"

Mayrie retorted,"I don't doubt it. But it's what you might do _unintentionally_ that troubles me. I'm beginning to feel concerned for poor Dannyl. I can easily see you induced by wine to have the madness to do something crazy, like suddenly jumping on his lap. Before the helpless man has a chance to die of fright, you'll be eagerly fondling him and ravishing his irresistible neck." She paused, grinning at her brother's mortified expression. "You still get, ah… _excited_ about necks, don't you?"

Tayend wondered why on earth he had ever told his sister about his intimate fascinations. "Yes", he admitted. He then continued crookedly, "But you'd better stop conjuring up such enrapturing images of Dannyl in my presence. I might just lose myself in my frenzied imagination, which has little care for Lord Dannyl's honour."

Mayrie added, "Or his reputation." Her smirk began to fade.

Tayend noticed her sudden change in mood. "What is it?" he asked curiously.

His sister hesitated, as she knew how he would react to what she was about the say. But he needed to know. He needed to have as much information about Lord Dannyl's feelings as possible.

"Please don't interrupt me until I'm finished. When I had Dannyl alone last night, I questioned him about you, and how he felt that you are a lad. I carefully assessed his answers, and read the emotion behind his words. I judged it was safe to inform him of your interest in him."

Just as she had expected, Tayend burst in furiously at this point. "You did WHAT?!" He sprang out of his chair looking frantically around, as though searching for another book to throw at her- no doubt a heavier one this time. He covered his face with his hands in despair. "How shall I ever look him in the eye again?"

"Perhaps if you somehow grew another couple of inches that might help."

Tayend shot Mayrie a fierce glance. "How can you joke about this? What if Dannyl can't abide to be near a man with such… such distorted desires for him? I'm not just his damn assistant; I'm his friend as well. But now that you… you've gone and told him I'm attracted to him, you probably ruined everything!" Tayend was breathing heavily.

Mayrie retained her infuriatingly composed bearing. "Well, perhaps you would like to hear how he responded?"

Tayend now looked terrified. He was pacing restlessly, as he wildly ran his hands through his hair. He nodded warily, unable to speak.

Mayrie carried on steadily, "He was genuinely stunned when I told him about your feelings for him. He seemed to have never suspected that your interest in him was more than friendly… Which I have to admit, greatly surprised me. I never knew you could be reserved enough to contain all your passionate and overwhelming emotions for the most exquisite man in the Allied Lands-"

Don't you dare make fun of Lord Dannyl, Mayrie!" Tayend warned her indignantly. "I've never met another man with so many admirable qualities; intelligence, kindness, compassion, honour, virtue and trust-worthiness. But there's another side to him that not everybody bothers to see. He's gentle and devoted. And… he can be gallant or charming in just a small gesture. His humour hardly ever fails to make me laugh. To me he's the most wonderful and inspiring man in the world- and that's why I love him." Tayend finished his speech breathlessly, and two bright patches of colour were burning high up on his cheekbones.

Mayrie smiled soothingly, as she guided her brother back into a chair. She laid her hand on his. "I know he means everything to you, Tayend. Its obvious how you feel for Dannyl is not some fleeting fascination. That's why I couldn't bear to watch you try to continue on as friends with him- it would be torture for you. And sooner or later he'd be bound to figure it out anyway."

Tayend sighed in agreement. Mayrie was right. There was no way he could have kept his attractions for Dannyl a secret forever. It would be so easy for Tayend to impulsively make his desire for the magician evident while drunk someday, which would only be embarrassing for both of them. It was better that his logical and astute sister broke the news to him.

"I did try to hint my feelings to him a few weeks ago." Tayend explained. "I told him I had my eye on someone, but refused to tell him who it was." He frowned. "I had hoped he might have figured out the truth, and give me some indication of what his own feelings were."

Mayrie nodded sympathetically. The look of dejected contemplation on her younger brother's face wounded her acutely. She hastily described Lord Dannyl's reaction to the news once he had gotten over his surprise.

Tayend said hesitantly, "So, he… he wasn't angry or… disgusted?"

Mayrie shook his head. "On the contrary, I interpreted he was rather flattered by the fact he had a handsome and highly sought-after young man attracted to him."

Tayend couldn't suppress his mirth. "Highly sought-after?!" he choked. "The only reason anybody seeks me out is to return a book from the Library!"

Mayrie rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Stop playing coy, Tayend. You know as well as I do that you have a substantial number of male admirers, all eager to catch a glimpse of you in one of your tightly fitted court outfits."

The scholar grinned demurely. "It's strange, now that you mention it. Whenever I'm having a conversation with any of those admirers, they never seem to have their eyes on my face. I used to think they lowered their gaze out of shyness, but now you're giving me other suspicions…"

Mayrie joined in with Tayend's infectious laughter. Shaking his head, he adopted a slightly more serious tone. "But those kind of men… I'm just not interested in them. They're not looking for a relationship, they only want…" The young man blushed, and thought frantically for a more polite way to explain. "Think of a bottle of wine that they're curious about. They'll stare at the bottle, eager to find out what it tastes like, and if it lives up to their expectations. They might even playfully swirl the wine around their glass, before gulping it all down in one go. If they enjoy it, they'll take another glassful. But when the bottle's empty, or they've grown bored of that particular flavour, they'll simply find another delicious bottle of wine to satisfy their lust."

Mayrie raised an eyebrow, trying not to smirk at Tayend comparing himself to a bottle of wine. Her little brother truly had a wild imagination, but this was one of the qualities which made him so endearing. She played along, and innocently replied, "That's very poetic, Tayend. So, how would Lord Dannyl treat his bottle of wine?"

Tayend flushed even brighter, but an affectionate smile played across his lips. "Extremely well, I should think! He's not the sort of man to drink it all in one go, or to go carelessly from one bottle to the next. Ah… I think I'll stop talking about this now. I'm starting to feel somewhat uncomfortable with my choice of comparison."

Mayrie grinned, and leant over to affectionately rub his shoulders. "I understand what you're saying. Dannyl is exactly what you need in a man. But most important of all, you could depend on his to be faithful. I very much doubt he's the type to take advantage of you… Although, just in case I'm terribly wrong, last night I took the precaution of warning him to treat you respectfully." Mayrie's face was serious now.

"Oh Mayrie! Do you know how utterly pathetic that makes me look?! As though I need my sister to protect me from men with wicked intentions." He paused thoughtfully. "But I'd be very grateful if you could have a word with Velend- I think he's stalking me at the Library. He pretends he's searching for books, but I can tell he's really staring at me from behind the shelves. Once he had the cheek to ask me if I showed guests around, and if I was going to give him the grand tour. But I very much doubt it was the _Library _that he was eager to explore." Tayend smiled bashfully.

Mayrie chortled at his expression. "Well, let us hope that the dashing Lord Dannyl will be around to protect you when I'm not." As her brother's face clouded with worry, she quickly added, "Listen Tayend. He doesn't resent you for who you are, or for your attraction to him. Just continue on with him as friends for the moment. If he indicates that he feels the same way for you, _then_ you can make your move. But until then, just let him have time to figure out his own confused feelings. If he _is_ a lad as well, it can't be easy for him to accept it, given how he was plagued by those rumours as a boy. If he's fond of you, he'll be determined keep you as his assistant and friend. And if he feels attracted to you to, then sooner or later he will let you know, especially as how he already knows how you feel for him. I'd be surprised if he'd have enough resolve to resist you forever, he's bound to give in to his desires at some point. The main issue he'd have would be keeping the relationship a secret, and preventing the Guild from discovering that the rumours were true all along. He may decide that the risk of becoming too attached to you is far too dangerous. In the end, it all depends on how strong his feelings are for you. And if he believes you're worth the risk."

Tayend sighed wearily. His sister was right, just as she always was. But he was glad she had told Dannyl of his interest in him, it felt such a relief that the secret was no longer weighing him down. As Mayrie stood, she gave her little brother a warm embrace. _All I can do now is wait_, Tayend resigned to himself, as he followed his sister out of the library for breakfast.

_(As always, please let me know your views, I'd love to hear!!!)_


End file.
